A Will to Kill is a classic, Agatha Christie-style mystery set in modern India and is the first book in the Harith Athreya mysteries by R.V. Raman.
Title: A Will to Kill
Author: R.V. Raman
Series: Harith Athreya #1
First Published: December 1, 2020
Publisher: Agora Books
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via Netgalley
*** Thank you to the publisher Agora Books, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Aging and wheelchair-bound patriarch Bhaskar Fernandez has finally reclaimed his family property after a bitter legal battle, and now wants to reunite his aggrieved relatives. So, he invites them to remote Greybrooke Manor in the misty Nilgiris ―a mansion that has played host to several sudden deaths; a colonial edifice that stands alone in a valley that is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Englishman. But Bhaskar has other, more practical problems to deal with.
He knows that his family is waiting for him to die to regain the family fortune, and to safeguard himself against violence during the house party, he writes two conflicting wills. Which one of them comes into force depends on how he dies.
Into this tinderbox, he brings Harith Athreya, a seasoned investigator. When a landslide occurs, temporarily isolating them all at the mansion, and resulting in a murder, Athreya finds that murder is not the only thing the mist conceals.
A wonderful tribute to classic Agatha Christie mysteries
Readers of this blog know that I am huge Agatha Christie fan. So when I saw a tweet promoting A Will to Kill with this blurb: “For fans of Knives Out, a book that embodies all the things we love about Agatha Christie―a haunted manor house, estranged relatives, a will, and a murder― set in modern-day India, and the first in a new series from author RV Raman,” I knew that I *had* to read this book.
There were definitely moments when I definitely felt like I was in an Agatha Christie novel – the large group of characters (all members of a family), the seasoned investigator, the “locked room” feel of isolating the group in a remote location, a large family home, red herrings and twists and turns…. it was all GREAT fun.
The mystery kicks off when Athreya is invited to Greybrooke Manor, the home of Bhaskar Fernandez. Greybrooks is supposed to be cursed and Bhaskar, who isn’t taking any chances, has drafted two wills. One in case he dies of ‘natural causes’ and one if he dies under ‘suspicious circumstances’. Bhaskar wants extra insurance and hires Athreya for the future – if Bhaskar dies mysteriously, Athreya is to investigate and find the culprit.
Of course, there are suspects aplenty amongst the squabbling family members – all of whom have their own reasons for wanting their share of the inheritance. What follows is a brilliant mix of traditional murder mystery (with TWO bodies!), modern family problems, complicated twists, ghost stories and an exotic and lush setting.
Haritha Athreya – the new detective on the scene
I knew I was in for a treat when we first meet Harith Athreya. He’s a bit mysterious – we know that he’s an investigator of sorts, but he’s not officially with the police (sort of like Hercule Poirot). As the story unfolds, you get glimpses of how well-respected he is and that he’s achieved some big successes with the police. However, nothing is told to you directly – I’m hoping that more of Athreya’s background comes out in future stories. His methods are sound and he is an intriguing and interesting character, if not just a tad too enigmatic.
One of my favourite scenes (as it will be for other Christie fans) is near the start of the story. Athreya is on a train on his way to Greybrooke Manor (the location of the main mystery). As he looks at his fellow travellers, he sees an elderly gentleman watching him – a man who has a stiff, pointed moustache, swathed in a muffler and who watched Athreya with twinkling eyes. Sound like anyone we know?
A new favourite mystery series
My only complaint with the story that I never connected with any of the characters (except for Athreya) so I didn’t really care too much who the victims or the murderer was (I just wanted to see how the puzzle untangled itself). Part of the problem is that there are so many characters, that it’s hard to spend time developing any one of them significantly. However, this is something that I often found happened in Agatha Christie books too (and also the aforementioned Knives Out). It’s not a major negative for me – as long as I enjoy the main protagonist, I’m generally satisfied enough to follow the series.
Earlier this year I made a list of several mysteries set in India that I wanted to check out and this was one of the first that I’ve read and I was just blown away. Aside from that one minor point of trying to keep track of all the characters, the rest of this story just hums along at a great pace. It’s been a long time since I read a book in one sitting but I just couldn’t put this one down because I *had* to find out whodunnit.
I loved every minute of it. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book in this series!
Read A Will to Kill for yourself
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